Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream (recipe)

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Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

For the past few years, (in our ice cream churning prime) whenever my husband and I would arrive at a family dinner, everyone would say, “So… did you bring ice cream?” We have hauled frozen tubs of ice cream to a family cabin in the hot hills of Washington and packed our ice cream machine in between beach towels and bike helmets bound for Sunriver.

Unfortunately, we have been totally slacking off in that department lately. We show up, people look past us for a cooler. Nothing. We need to pull it together because compared to homemade ice cream, we really are a disappointment. It’s kind of like when you have an adorable brand new baby. Nobody wants to see you. They want to get their hands on that sweet, squishy deliciousness. Babies, ice cream. One scoop, and you will see why.

This homemade chocolate ice cream recipe is perfection, if I do say so myself. We tested a bunch, and this one, originally from Alton Brown, was the easy winner. The texture is smooth and silky, kind of like frozen chocolate mousse. And the flavor is a rich explosion of chocolate goodness. In fact, right after I typed that, I convinced myself to have a generous scoop. And it’s almost midnight. I’m not kidding, and it was totally worth it.

Once you have the basic recipe down, you can add additional ingredients: chocolate chunks, nuts, marshmallows, whatever you want! Between the Vanilla Ice Cream recipe and this one, we rarely make anything else. They are both versatile and consistently delicious.

One glance at the ingredient list, and you’ll notice this isn’t exactly diet food. Then again, if you are looking to lose weight by eating ice cream, we might need to talk. But I’m an everything-in-moderation kind of girl, and if I’m going to splurge, it better be on something worth it.

I like Michael Pollan’s take on it from his book, (Amazon). He says, “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” The idea being, of course, that it will keep junk food squarely in the rare treat category. In , Pollan went on to say,

“One of our problems is that foods that are labor or money intensive have gotten very cheap and easy to procure. French fries are a great example. They are a tremendous pain to make. Wash the potatoes, fry potatoes, get rid of the oil, clean up the mess. If you made them yourself you’d have them about once a month, and that’s probably about right. The fact that labor has been removed from special occasion food has made us treat it as everyday food. One way to curb that and still enjoy those foods is to make them.”

Place the and 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In a mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks for about a minute. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about 1/3 of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat.

Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and reaches 175-degrees. Pour the mixture into a container and keep it at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.

Pour into an and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve immediately for soft serve or freeze another 4-8 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

We have used a bucket-style ice cream maker very similar to this (Amazon) for the past seven years. It has worked great and lasted far longer than I expected for such a low price point. This model has received high reviews and sells for less than $25. Great deal!

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Oh man, I seriously want to dive into this bowl of ice cream. I’m supposed to give up dairy for my RA but giving up ice cream and yogurt has been the hardest for me. Stopping by from Inspire Me Monday, hope you’ll linkup with us at Small Victories Sunday Linkup also!

Oh my….this looks absolutely decadent. I’m an ice cream lover and can you believe that we have yet to own an ice cream freezer? I’m thinking I really MUST get it on my gift wish list today so the hubby gets the hint. 😉

Okay, you inspired me! I am more of a cake and cookie person, but wanted to make something special for my family, so I got an ice cream maker tonight (the old school kind that requires rock salt), and made this chocolate ice cream recipe! I have to say it is the best ice cream I have EVER had! Yum!!!…..and surprisingly, it was very difficult to find an old school ice cream maker. I would highly suggest ordering the one on Amazon you listed. I went to several stores, called several more, and finally got the last one they had at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Oh gosh, I use both Alton Brown’s vanilla and chocolate recipes and they are hands down my fav ice cream ever! For fruity flavors, I just blend up whatever I have (strawberries, blackberries, etc) in my blender and dump them in to the base. Totally yum-o! By the way, Costco had the bigger 2 qt Cuisinart that is nearly $90 on Amazon for $49.99. I bought it last year and adore it so much. My MIL got one this year (I think it was in April) because I have just raved about it. You might want to check it out next time you’re there or online.